Before you get drown into the waves of news items explaining what Google Chrome is and what it is not, let’s not forget one of its most Â important feature Â which might make it click among Internet security geeks, like us.

The Official Google Blog explains why Chrome OS is very a secured OS by saying that since all apps that you will use will be living within the Chrome browser, Google has made sure that security was given utmost priority. [Read more…]

Young Brits have expressed regret over their “digital tattoo” â€“ the indelible marks their activities have left scattered around various social media networks and online video portals.

According to research by security firm Symantec, one-third of under-25s said that they would like to delete parts of their online history, including embarrassing photographs and throwaway comments.

Having said that, 35% said that they didn’t worry at all about what they’d posted online. Perhaps they’ve never inadvertently told their posse via Facebook that he’s a pervert, or had compromising videos posted on YouTube, and they’ve obviously not considered the implications of cyber-crime, either. [Read more…]

While we could spend hours debating the usefulness of the Web, one thing is certain: it’s an amazing resource to research people. From sordid pasts keeping people from landing jobs to reconnected with a long lost love, if you exist on earth, there’s a good chance you’ll be found on the Web.

DirtSearch hopes to make your life a bit easier when it comes to searching for scoop on either you or someone you know. A free resource, the Website scours public record data and pulls it all together. Among the things you can expect to find out are criminal records, sex offenders, property ownership and more.

With the results you will also receive a “Dirty Score,” calculating the number of times your name is located.

I happen to have a very common full name, and I happen to live in New York. The site was able to tell me that I have 77 counterparts on LinkedIn – and that’s about it.

Meanwhile, a search conducted in Pipl.com seems to turn up much more information, including social network information.

If DirtSearch wants to compete in this space, they’ll have to beef up the number of sources they pull from. If you give it a try, let us know how it goes in the comments section below.

In this digital world itâ€™s all about the details. Collectively, this chunk of information is worth billions of dollars in the form of advertising revenues.

So itâ€™s not really surprising why most online companies are dying to gather our personal information by tracking our online activities. Just ask Facebookâ€™s Zucerkberg is you donâ€™t believe me.

However, Internet activity tracking is worse that we normally imagine. According to a news article, research firm comScore found out that major Web companies including Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Myspace and AOL capture about 336 billion data every month!

Now, hereâ€™s why Microsoft is so into Yahoo. It turned out Yahoo gathers the most information every month, recording about 110 million data per month or 811 per user.

Why are the privacy groups and consumers not complaining about this? Apparently, most of the data collected are done covertly.

As expected, these online companies are quick to defend its practices using consumer-protection policies and credibility as punch lines.

Despite the public clamor against Facebookâ€™s controversial ad system, a new survey by non-profit Pew Internet & American Life Project shows that 60% of Internet users say they are not worried about how much information is available about them online.

Understandably, almost the same percentage does not feel compelled to limit the amount of information about them online. In short, digital footprint does not matter much to majority of online users these days.

And because many online users do not care much about their personal info shared online, more than half (53%) have searched online for information about friends, family, romantic interests, or business colleagues.

In terms of privacy, only 38% have made some steps to limit their information in the Internet. Given the statistics provided, I find myself asking the same question asked by InformationWeek: Is privacy really a legitimate issue if only a fifth of those online express serious concerns about it?

While the leading search engines and social networking sites like Facebook are very eager to invade our privacy, Ask.com is taking the road less traveled with its new â€œprivacy switchâ€ named AskEraser.

Displayed prominently on the upper right corner of its home page, AskEraser gives users the power to delete their search activities from Ask.comâ€™s servers within hours. All info like IP address, user ID, session ID, and the complete text of their searches will be deleted in just one click at the “AskEraser” link.

Allowing online users to control information is practically a first in an industry filled with aggressive advertisers and information-hungry companies. Ask.com hopes other players will follow suit.

“Anywhere that you log into, anywhere where you put in personalized information, there should be a way – an easy way – to control how that information is used and retained,” said Doug Leeds, senior vice president at Ask.com, a unit of IAC/InterActive Corp. (IACI). “We are giving users the ability themselves to take control of their privacy.”

Still, information will not be totally erased because of the 5-year contract between Google and Ask.com. The search engine giant is not obliged to delete any data coming from Ask.com.

I guess we owe it all to Facebook for making a big mistake with Beacon. Now, every company is paying more attention to privacy issues more than ever.